Poll Shows Most Montanans Feel State Is On Wrong Track

Montanans aren’t confident about the direction of the state and generally disapprove of their top elected officials, according to a Montana Free Press-Rutgers Eagleton poll.

The 839 voters polled were selected randomly from Montana’s registered voter file. Only 36 percent of those polled said Montana “is currently going in the right direction,” while 53 percent said the state “has gone off on the wrong track.” The remaining respondents to the poll, conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 7, said they weren’t sure.

Voters gave slightly better marks to President Donald Trump and the state’s top elected officials than they did to the direction of the state generally.

The president received a 42 percent job approval rating, with 53 percent of voters disapproving. About 78 percent of Republicans and Republican- leaning respondents approved of Trump’s job performance, while 97 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents disapproved.

Voters were evenly split on their assessment of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s job performance, with 46 percent approving, 46 percent disapproving and 8 percent indicating they didn’t know. Among Republicans and voters who lean Republican, 77 percent approved of Gianforte’s job performance, while 85 percent of Democrats and voters who lean Democratic disapproved.

Overall job performance approval numbers for U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, both Republicans, were in the low 40s, with Daines receiving a 41 percent approval rating and a 46 percent disapproval rating, with the remainder saying they didn’t know. Among Republicans and Republican- leaning voters, 70 percent said they approved of Daines, while 88 percent of Democrats and Democratic- leaning voters disapproved.

Sheehy received a 43 percent approval rating, with 47 percent of respondents disapproving, and the remainder saying they didn’t know. Two years into his first term, Sheehy received a 77 percent approval rating from Republicans and Republican- leaning voters. Democrats and Democratic- leaning voters disapproved of Sheehy at 91 percent.

Daines chose not to seek a third Senate term this election. Sheehy was elected in 2024.

In western Montana, 33 percent of voters approved of Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke’s job performance, while 49 percent disapproved and the remainder didn’t know. Republicans and Republican-leaning voters gave Zinke a 61 percent approval share, while 90 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters disapproved of Zinke.

In eastern Montana, Republican Rep. Troy Downing received a 43 percent approval rating, while 36 percent disapproved and 21 percent didn’t know. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning voters, 68 percent approved of Downing’s job performance, while 76 percent of Democrats and Democratic- leaning voters disapproved.

Polling populations specific to the U.S. House Districts are roughly half the size of the statewide polling sample, which produces a margin of error different from the statewide poll for each district. The poll results’ margin of error for Downing is roughly 5.8 percent, and for Zinke 6 percent.